Tracy: Wilson's commitment admirable

02/19/2006
BRADENTON, Fla. -- Although his catcher's mitt has gathered a lot of dust during the past few years, Craig Wilson still considers himself a catcher at heart.
"It's something you either love or hate, and I've always enjoyed it," said Wilson. "You'd like to get back there and squat as much as you can."
So, when Wilson decided to arrive early at Spring Training with the pitchers and catchers on Thursday, just like he had during the previous five springs, he didn't think it was a big deal.
Jim Tracy, on the other hand, saw it differently. Since Wilson hadn't been officially asked to report to camp early, the new Pirates manager viewed Wilson's willingness to strap on the "tools of ignorance" as a sign that the slugger was willing to go out of his way to help the team.
Tracy practically gushed when describing Wilson's commitment.
"[Wilson] is a guy that I really admire for what he is doing," said Tracy. "You talk about a guy coming in [to camp] in shape. How about a guy coming in and taking catchers gear and wanting to do some work in that aspect of the game?
"For a guy to come here, to want to come in here and want to work at that to increase that portion of his game and the versatility of it, I admire that."
Wilson, who admits he was "antsy to get going," had every reason to want to get an early start on the 2006 campaign and put last year behind him. After leading the Pirates with 29 home runs in 2004, the versatile Wilson spent most of last season recovering from a pair of hand injuries. Furthermore, with the Bucs' offseason acquisitions of first baseman Sean Casey and right fielder Jeromy Burnitz, Wilson knows he will have to prove that he deserves a regular spot in the lineup.
"It isn't the best feeling in the world knowing that they always seem to want to bring someone in to play a spot for you," said Wilson. "But at the same time, you still have to go out and produce on the field."
Tracy has made no secret of his intention to start Casey and Burnitz, and he used Wilson's early arrival as an opportunity to meet privately with Pittsburgh's longest-tenured current player and lay the cards out on the table. Tracy wanted Wilson to know that he will still be an important piece of the team's puzzle even if he isn't in the lineup every day. Tracy will be looking for Wilson to again put the team first this season in his role as a bench player and late-inning power threat.
"I talked to him and told him exactly where the situation is at right now," said Tracy.
As Tracy sees it, bench players are vital to any team's success. He plans to give Wilson adequate playing time so that Wilson will be sharp when called upon to deliver a clutch pinch-hit with the game on the line.
"[Wilson] has a chance to be a very productive player for us," said Tracy. "If he is going to be a very productive player for us, there are situations where you have to find at-bats.
"[If] I, as the guy in charge, haven't found at-bats for him leading up to those at-bats, then I haven't done a very good job with the player."
Wilson appreciated Tracy's straightforward approach. However, he's not yet willing to give up his fight for a spot in the starting lineup.
"It's nice to come in and know what is going to be expected of you," said Wilson. "After we chatted, [Tracy] let me know where I was at. That's definitely appreciated.
"I'm going to go out and play hard. Hopefully, I'll make it tough for him not to put me in the lineup."

Source: http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/